


(it's a) Coping Mechanism

by electronic_elevator



Category: Villainous (Cartoon)
Genre: ABDL, Ageplay, Black Hat feels an emotion, Crying, Diapers, Fear, Flug also feels an emotion but it's anxiety so that's normal, M/M, Misunderstanding, Nonsexual Ageplay, Regret, Walking In On Someone, Wetting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-25
Updated: 2019-06-27
Packaged: 2020-05-19 15:13:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19359520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/electronic_elevator/pseuds/electronic_elevator
Summary: Black Hat discovers something about Dr. Flug. (chapter summaries inside) // Written July 2017





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Black Hat is infuriated when he finds out that Dr. Flug has missed a deadline, more so when he finds out it is likely because he's been partaking in some inane distractions. He immediately demands a stop to it, but when this doesn't seem to solve things, he is irritated and disgusted to realize not only has he likely made a mistake, but might even feel bad about it.

Black Hat seethed. He'd gone all the way down to his pathetic excuse for a scientist's laboratory to scream at him for not finishing the latest invention by yesterday at 8:30 PM on the dot as _kindly requested,_ but the man was not there. Further incensed, he'd stormed back up to the doctor's quarters. 

Throwing open the door, Black Hat shouted "FLUG!" The door slammed on the inside wall, punctuating this. He crossed his arms and continued, "WHY ARE YOU NOT IN YOUR LABORATORY?!" before noticing the doctor was cringing further and looking more terrified than was normal. Before congratulating himself, he noticed something amiss. The scientist was clad in his usual t-shirt and even kept his standard-issue lab coat on, but his favored jeans were replaced with a fluffy white diaper, clearly visible despite his attempts to cover himself. 

Black Hat's rage temporarily suspended, he blinked in disbelief. 

"Sir-- Black Hat, sir-- it's Saturday! It's my day off!! I....." Flug stammered, curling into himself. 

"Your days off only apply when you've finished your work. You did not finish yesterday. But first, explain this," Black Hat demanded coldly, gesturing to Flug's quivering form. 

For several seconds, Flug stammered incoherent starts to words, and Black Hat took in more information from the scene. Flug, on the floor, had himself surrounded with his laptop playing a cartoon (unpaused due to the suddenness of the interruption) and a stuffed bear vaguely the shape of 5.0.5 tossed partially under the bed from Flug's scuffling. There was furthermore a pacifier dangling from its clip on his shirt, and...?

"Is your diaper wet?" Black Hat asked, his lip curling in disgust. When Flug opened his mouth to answer, shaking his head in horror, Black Hat cut him off. "I don't want you to explain. Clearly your incompetence manifests in more than just late projects." Flug then started crying, fueling Black Hat's desire for cruelty. He grabbed him by the shirtneck and pulled him standing. 

"This is a distraction to your job. I don't want it to continue, do you hear me, Flug?" Black Hat said lowly, close to his face. Flug managed a pathetic nod, tears still dripping onto his shirt, and Black Hat released him. 

"To ensure it, I'm taking this" - he ripped off the pacifier clip - "and this" - he grabbed the stuffed bear, almost smiling at the desperate "no!" Flug squeaked out - "and burning them." With a snap of his fingers, the items combusted. A sob tore from Flug, who had resigned to staring at the floor. 

"I should expect to find your other effects in the garbage in the morning. And I should expect to find your inventions on my desk _ON TIME_ from now on!! I will give you _until 8:30 tonight! _You have thirty minutes to put yourself together and get to work," he shouted. Flug flinched, nodding rapidly.__

__Satisfied he'd molded him to obedience, Black Hat left, slamming the door behind him._ _

__As it was Saturday, he headed to his personal quarters to enjoy his day off.  
_____________ _

__Black Hat found the invention on his desk the next morning. He frowned. There wasn't even a note. Typically the man would present the devices to him, explaining them and preening for compliments. He didn't even know when it was put there and had to consult the cameras to find that it was at about 8:29 the previous night._ _

__Alright, so the man made the deadline. His tactics must've worked, he told himself, pushing down the feeling of "something's off."_ _

_______________ _

__Sunday and Monday passed without sight nor sound of Flug. Black Hat felt adverse to going to find him, though he wanted to know if he was meeting all his obligations. Out of curiosity, he checked the garbage from Flug's quarters and saw a pack of diapers as well as a few sippy cups and bottles, coloring books with scribbled pages -- and then he'd seen enough and didn't want to look anymore. It was definitely the right decision to put a stop to this, he decided, again shoving down any mixed feelings he was having.  
_____________ _

__In just two days, the scientist missed another deadline. Ready to tear him apart again, Black Hat tried first his lab, and then his quarters. He was in neither place - but of course not. He'd been avoiding Black Hat like the plague for almost a week since the incident. Probably due to some complication of the situation, 5.0.5 gave him a wider berth than usual (a benefit) and Demencia eyed him with suspicion and not adoration as was normal. He hated her, sure, but he liked being acknowledged as sexy and impressive, so this was an annoyance. Stalking back to the main area of the house, he passed her._ _

__"Demencia," he said, stopping her. There was silence. Then:_ _

__"What did you do to Flug, Black Hat?" Demencia asked, a strange, concerned look on her face._ _

__Black Hat fumed. How dare she accuse him! "I did nothing!! The idiot wasn't meeting his deadlines and I had a talk with him about distractions!!" Something made him hold his tongue about the nature of the distractions._ _

__Demencia didn't look convinced. Knowing Black Hat as well as she did, she continued, "Humans... need distractions sometimes, Black Hat. I don't know what you did to him, but he's been more stressed than I've ever seen him since, like, the weekend. And this is Flug we're talking about. He's always stressed. But like, I tried to sneak up on him and scare him - which I've done a zillion times before - and he broke down crying. Usually he just yells at me to go away and it's funny. But I felt really bad."_ _

__Black Hat was silent, still pretending to be mad. Internally, he realized he may have pushed Flug too far. Stupid humans and their stupid fragile psyches._ _

__This was filed onto the long list of "Reasons Why Caring About People Is A Horrible Idea" he kept a mental tally for. He groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose._ _

__"Where is he?"_ _

_______________ _

__"Flug."_ _

__"......Sir," Flug replied meekly, staring into his tea at the bar in the kitchen._ _

__"You've been avoiding me."_ _

__Flug made no reply._ _

__"Demencia... told me you've been stressed." Still no reply. Frustrated, Black Hat growled. "You've gotta talk to me. I'm trying to-"_ _

__But Flug cut him off, "It's a coping mechanism."_ _

__"...A coping mechanism," Black Hat repeated after a moment of silence, resisting the urge to punish him for interrupting, though in truth he didn't know how he was going to end the sentence anyway. More silence._ _

__"So what?! Explain it!!!" Black Hat exploded impatiently, causing Flug to almost curl into a ball in his seat._ _

__Rapidly, anxiously, he continued. "It's a coping mechanism!! It helps with my anxiety! It's called ABDL and when I'm little it helps me feel like it's okay if I'm not in control all the time and like everything I do doesn't need to be perfect and gives me a fucking break for once from feeling as worthless as you make me out to be!!" By the end, he'd forgotten again about disobedience, and started crying._ _

__Black Hat was taken aback, and in the relative silence of Flug's crying onto the countertop he stood processing the situation. He was a bit offended that Flug thought he would employ an incompetent scientist - of course Flug was the best around; Black Hat wouldn't settle for less and Flug should know that. But the man had always had self esteem issues._ _

__To have gotten Flug in such dire straits, this ABDL thing must be integral to his life - far more important than the stupid distraction Black Hat had treated it as._ _

__Deep in his stomach, an unpleasant and sour weight told him he actually felt bad about taking something so important away from the scientist._ _

__"I didn't know," Black Hat started, "so if this... whatever... is really that big of a deal, just do it. I want my products high-quality, you know, so I suppose I'll permit this if it ultimately leads to better work from you."_ _

__Flug turned around, looking at him incredulously. A late sniffle. "Sir? Are you... apologizing?"_ _

__Black Hat bristled. "Whatever for?!?!"_ _

__Flug shrunk back again, meekly amending, "nothing, sir."_ _

__"Do you understand me?!"_ _

__"Yes, sir."_ _

__"Well. Good." Black Hat made to leave, embarrassed at being called out. He mumbled from the door, "I'll have your... effects, restored to your room," then crossed the threshold._ _

__From partway down the hall, he heard a weak "Thank you, sir."_ _


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dr. Flug hasn't been taking care of himself. Black Hat seems to want to help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Full disclosure: Pastself said this wasn't edited, so I did edit it before posting. Still, it should be considered as having been written 07/2017. 
> 
> Original A/N on this was: "Because the coping mechanism fic was supposed to devolve into Paperhat but didn't"

Flug let out a frustrated shout, slamming an invention down onto the worktable. "It's still not working!!" 

Black Hat, who'd been hovering to give specifications on the device and to monitor Flug's progress, just looked at him. 

"I've tried EVERYTHING for this damn mechanism! It just melts!" As he spoke, he stabbed at the now-fused lump, trying to pry off what once had been a scientific instrument. He should know how to do this, damnit! He'd been working on it nearly nonstop for a week and felt as if it was all for nothing. 

"When was the last time you took a break?" Black Hat asked, pointedly. He'd made it sound like a euphemism and Flug blushed, knowing what he meant. 

"It doesn't matter!" he stammered, unwilling to talk about the subject with the man who professed to find it disgusting, and also unwilling to stop working. 

Then, he found himself lifted into Black Hat's arms.

For a moment, he just blinked in pure shock. Black Hat had never done anything like this to him before. But then, Flug realized he was being carried away from his work desk. "No!!" he shouted, squirming to get down. His mind raced - why was Black Hat doing this? The power gradient in the situation already had him feeling little, completely unwillingly. He knew he'd been on the edge for a while as the harsh work pace he'd been holding himself to wore him down. But he wanted to figure out what the hell was wrong with the device. His struggles increased to kicking and pulling, trying to resist the mental effects of the disruption, too. 

Black Hat snarled, growing approximately six eldritch tentacles and glaring down at Flug red-eyed. Flug's mind blanked. He shrunk back as far as he could into the arms holding him, terrified, and whimpered. 

"Stay still," Black Hat demanded, his countenance returning to normal. He retained the extra appendages but they lost their multitude of eyes. When Flug simply kept cowering, he continued, "oh, come on! Stop acting terrified! I'm trying to help you." 

_Help?_ Flug was confused. Black Hat hated this... or so Flug thought. Black Hat had found out about the lifestyle just a few months ago and reacted incredibly negatively. And though the two were something akin to friends, albeit dysfunctional, Flug rarely received any sort of affection from Black Hat. More often it was grievances. 

Flug was worried. He wanted his pacifier. He hated that Black Hat had reduced him to this so quickly, unsurprising as it was. Is that from... experience? Or research? The first possibility seemed less likely and inspired a strike of cold jealousy. The second made him hopeful. Before he could repress the thought, it streaked across his consciousness that he'd really like Black Hat to be his caregiver, at least sometimes. He blushed at the thought. _'That's not what this IS!'_ Flug reprimanded himself. _'He just... wants me to go back to the project refreshed so I can finish it.'_

Sometime during his internal tumult, they'd reached Flug's room, and he finally moved his hands away from his face when he felt Black Hat lowering him onto the bed. He took the newfound freedom to scramble into the top corner. The two eyed each other. 

"Flug, do you want me to do this or not?" Black Hat demanded impatiently. 

"I--" Flug stammered. _'Am I that obvious?!?!'_

Black Hat sighed, annoyed, and effortlessly got out Flug's hidden stash of baby things. He gasped audibly. 

"I have cameras, Flug," Black Hat patronized. 

_'Oh GOD,'_ Flug thought with horror, mind racing over everything he must've seen. _'...I guess it was research, then.'_

Black Hat had returned to the bed with diapering supplies and commanded Flug, "Get down here. Lay down." 

Flug didn't budge. 

With another impatient sigh, Black Hat's tentacles extended up, securing each of his limbs. Flug struggled, frustrated tears budding in his eyes, but was pulled back in front of Black Hat, who looked down imposingly. 

"Hello," he said, smirking. 

"Sir..." Flug mumbled. "Why are you doing this for me?"

Black Hat scoffed, and just a little too quickly, retorted "I already told you! We talked about this! This thing is evidently something you need periodically to keep working well!! You're overdue and too stubborn to do it unless someone makes you!" 

Flug wanted to ask if he wanted to. But if he called him out on the too-quick response and the fact that he could've sent Flug on break without coming with him, Black Hat would surely leave. And Flug wanted this badly, so he just gave a hesitant nod. 

Seemingly satisfied, Black Hat mumbled a gruff "well, then" and reached for the zipper on Flug's pants. The scientist squirmed, nervous. Nonetheless, Black Hat unzipped them and tugged down Flug's pants and underwear in one fell swoop. He whined, embarrassed, when Black Hat released his legs to remove the clothing Flug tried crossing them to cover himself. Black Hat had never seen him like this..! 

"Flug!" Black Hat reprimanded, unfolding the diaper. "Behave. Pick yourself up."

Flug, trying his best to follow orders, hesitantly uncrossed, but screwed his eyes shut. Since he kept whining, Black Hat paused after laying the diaper under him to dig out a pacifier. He released one of Flug's hands so he could take it and put it in his own mouth, knowing how he was about his own face. Flug blushed but accepted the item of comfort. It did calm him down somewhat... at least until Black Hat began rubbing baby powder into his diaper area. 

He squeaked from behind the pacifier, squirming with more vigor. "Jefecito--" he tried to say. The man ignored him, recapturing Flug's one free arm before proceeding with clinical efficiency to finish the powdering and tape up the sides snugly. 

"Did I do that correctly?" Black Hat asked with a defensively self assured tone. 

Flug mumbled an affirmative. It made him feel a bit better to be reminded that Black Hat was in unfamiliar waters, too. 

Satisfied, Black Hat picked him up and placed him on the floor, then continued, "When was the last time you ate?"

Flug pondered. "I... can't remember," he confessed, taking out his pacifier to speak clearly. "Probably sometime yesterday?"

Black Hat fixed him with a stern glare. "Then I'll be back." 

Flug saw him glance into the packed box still on the bed. He drew out a colorful bead toy - Flug had seen it on a Target run and been drawn to its bright colors and multitude of shapes, and it remained one of his favorites. Flug's eyes lit up. "Ah!!" He automatically reached up for it, making grabby hands despite being embarrassed by his reaction. 

Black Hat smirked down at him and handed over the beloved toy. "Play with this while I make you" - he glanced at the clock on the wall - "lunch."

 _'Lunch? I didn't sleep last night... Black Hat was right; I really need this break...'_ Flug admitted. Much more relaxed now that he was clothed and had warmed up to the idea that Black Hat did - somehow - want to care for him, Flug played happily. 

\---

Fifteen minutes or so later, Black Hat returned. He held a steaming plate of chicken nuggets and green beans - _'we had chicken nuggets in the manor and I didn't know about it?'_ Flug thought - in one hand, and a juice box in the other. It looked delicious, and Flug reared to his knees and carefully placed the bead toy onto his bed. 

Black Hat put the plate of food onto the small coffee table in Flug's room. "Voilà." Flug scrambled over to it, but Black Hat made a stern noise that stopped him. 

"Little boys cannot wear white lab coats while eating. You will spill all over yourself," Black Hat scolded, bending down and removing the offending article from Flug, who was staring with incredulous fulfillment and affection up at him. This was... exactly what he wanted. 

Black Hat, seeming to notice, scowled defensively. Flug filed it away as more evidence, but lost the focus to do proper science when Black Hat produced a bib and secured it around his neck. That, Flug remembered, came from a Dollar Store - a three-pack, all blue designs but this one with a plane. Of course he couldn't leave it. But he'd never used it, feeling always uncomfortable putting it on himself. In fact, last he knew it was still in the packaging. 

He'd apparently not moved for a minute, because Black Hat snapped, "Well?? Are you going to stop staring at me and eat??"

"Oh!!" Flug exclaimed, scooting forward. He felt a blush on his cheeks and tried to keep his eyes on his food, scooping up a chicken nugget and dipping it in the provided ketchup. It was quite good, the green beans, too, so he continued happily. After a few moments, Black Hat lowered himself to the floor across from him, and watched him eat. 

"Is it good?" 

"Mm-hmm," Flug responded, sucking down some juice. 

"You didn't sleep last night," Black Hat pointed out. It surprised Flug that he'd noticed. 

"That's okay; that happens sometimes." 

"You need your rest, Flug. After you eat we'll watch a show and then you'll take a nap."

Flug paused. He certainly did not want to sleep through his time with Black Hat. This was amazing and he finally felt comfortable. Black Hat might leave as soon as he drifted off, and... this might never happen again. "I don't need a nap!!" Flug insisted, munching on the last nugget. "I don't even feel tired." 

"Sounds like something a stubborn little boy might say," Black Hat countered. He was right, of course, so Flug couldn't find a retort to answer even though he really wasn't tired. He instead finished the juice box, making loud sounds with the straw when it was empty.

"What show would you like to watch?" Black Hat asked when Flug had eaten the last few green beans. 

Flug tried to think of something that might keep him alert, but his train of thought was derailed when Black Hat rose, leaning over the table to wipe Flug's face with the corner of his bib before removing it, placing it next to the plate to clear away later. 

There was ketchup on it. Black Hat was right to not let him wear his lab coat. Flug felt... comfortably warm. 

Then he realized he was staring again because Black Hat had that almost-definitely-embarrassed scowl and said, "If you can't pick, I will!" 

"But--!" Flug yelped, blushing again. That meant he couldn't gain a tactical advantage on show-type to stay awake. 

Then, he found himself being lifted into Black Hat's arms, which was... so nice. Oh god. He was trying his damnedest not to stare again. This was a real problem. A really bad problem. Flug was deposited gently on the couch to one side of his room. He had a very small TV there, which Black Hat switched on. To Flug's shame, it was already on a kid's channel.

"Perfect," Black Hat murmured, sitting comfortably beside Flug. He then reached over to Flug's abandoned pacifier and restored it to him. 

"Relax and go to sleep," Black Hat instructed, laying an arm across Flug's shoulders and coaxing him to lean on him. It took Flug a few minutes to get used to such close proximity with Black Hat in a non-threatening context. 

Unfortunately, now that his body had noticed its low energy reserves, he was growing sleepy. In the self-inventory, it also occurred to him that he needed to pee. I can wait, Flug thought. I'm not going to go while Black Hat's here. But, come to think of it, I haven't gone in... quite a while. With that thought, the feeling intensified. He cursed himself for not taking better care to attend to these things... and ignored it. 

Black Hat had (on purpose?) picked a show that was pretty boring to Flug. His eyelids were drooping by the end of the episode. 

In a few more minutes, he was lapsing in and out of sleep. On one of the "out of"s, the need to pee registered again, worse now. He forgot why he was holding it because he knew he was padded, so he let go. The warmth was comforting and he shifted position a bit as he finished, feeling much relieved. Black Hat moved his arm to compensate, and-- wait, Black Hat???!!!

Flug, horribly embarrassed, shot into an upright position, startling his companion. "Black Haaat!!" He cried, looking apologetic. Already he felt his eyes filling with tears. The wet diaper made him feel too young to resist them and a few rolled down his cheeks. 

Black Hat glanced down to the reason for his alarm. Flug was certain he was going to be reprimanded and left alone and couldn't help but start to cry in earnest. His pacifier tumbled haphazardly to the ground. 

"Flug..." Black Hat said, his earlier self confidence reduced. 

"I wet myself!! I was tryin' not to while you were here but I got sleepy and forgot and...!!! Please don't be mad; I promise I tried!"

Black Hat, surprisingly gentle, rubbed his shoulder as he cried. "Flug, I diapered you for a reason. I'm not angry. This is okay. You are supposed to wet your diaper." 

Relieved, but still quite upset, Flug threw himself onto Black Hat, clutching himself to the man's chest. He didn't get a full hug in return, but Black Hat patted his back and made shooshing noises, twice giving more reassurances that he'd expected Flug to wet himself but mostly just letting him cry for several minutes while he calmed down. 

"'M tired, sir..." Flug mumbled, rubbing at the tracks that the last of his tears left. 

"I know. You needed your nap before and crying wore you out."

Flug didn't protest this time. 

"I'm going to change your diaper and put you in bed for a proper nap," Black Hat said, already moving to stand up with the boy. Flug was laid on his bed and tried his best to make it easy for Black Hat to untape the wet diaper, clean him off, and resecure a new one. He was too sleepy to be embarrassed about the change. 

He scampered under the covers when Black Hat moved to the garbage. 

"T'ank you," he said quietly. 

Black Hat didn't respond, instead saying, "I need to attend to some business now. Get some sleep."

Against his will, tears welled up again in Flug's eyes. A torrent of fearful thoughts kicked up in his head - hethinksI'mdisgustingohgodthiswassomesortoftestandIfailedandhehatesme - so he only nodded shortly in response, not trusting his voice.

Black Hat fixed Flug with an unreadable stare. Anxiety mounting, Flug watched him cross to where they had sat... until he crossed back over with his dropped pacifier. He cleaned it off on his shirt and proffered it to the closely-watching boy. 

It was a display of affection. As close to Black Hat would get to, "stop worrying; I like you and I like this and I want to continue doing this with you."

Flug took it, imagining that was replying with "I realize you probably do have important work to do and that makes me value the time you just spent on me more."

"Alright, then," Black Hat said. "I'll be in my office." Then, he left Flug's room, turning out the light with one last glance at Flug in bed. 

Utterly exhausted from the emotional rollercoaster of the morning - and thankfully too much so to over analyze everything that had happened - Flug rapidly fell into a much-needed deep, restful sleep.


End file.
